I have been reading books with a grandnephew over the last several
months. We call it the Family Almost Book Club. He is in 9th
grade and a voracious reader. Most of the titles we have read are YA, a
genre that was almost unknown to me.
The books that have been our favorites are:
The Fault in our Stars by John Green - great characters, a compelling
story, snappy tart dialog that rings consistently true. A wonderful
novel that I don't hesitate to recommend to adults. We also read and
thoroughly enjoyed Green's
Looking for Alaska.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (his first I think) - located in SciFi
but a YA at heart. A dystopian future, a love story with the odds
stacked against the budding lovers, a slacker learns to step up and play
his best game to win love and save the universe. What's not to love?
It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini - Based on the author's
experience in battling depression. It is a funny story, not comedic or
light-hearted, but funny in a warm and optimistic way. The protagonist's
short stay in a Pysch Ward seems almost magical in its results, but one
should never doubt the efficacy of modern anti-depressants for some
people.
Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - coming-of-age
epistolary novel in which the main character Charlie describes his life
and experiences in a series of letters to an unknown party. Charlie's
journey reminds those of us for whom high school is a dim memory of the
trials and roller-coaster emotions of that period of our lives. And it
communicates acceptance of differences, empathy for the outsider, and
optimism for the soon to be initiated.
We have
read three or four others including
Hunger Games,
Ender's Game,
The Maze Runner, and
Divergent, but these have had plenty of attention from many
others. I have become a big fan of YA's, and have thanked my grandnephew
on several occasions for introducing me to these special books.
Cheers,
Michael
1 comment:
I love the idea of family book clubs! i've been wanting to start one with my mother, but she reads SO much faster than me. she can tear through a book that takes me a week to read in two days! and i've been trying to do one with my sister since she's more up to my speed and always asking me for book recommendations, but we are on two different types of busy schedules, ahh!
i loved reading this post - they have read some really awesome books together and i'm sure they've had really interesting discussions, especially since the YA genre is fairly new to older readers!
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